Report: Halifax Media angling to make Trib its flagship

News that Media General Inc. will sell all of its newspapers — with the exception of the Tampa Tribune — for $142 million in cash to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is cause for a lot of speculation.

Publicly, Media General (NYSE: MEG) said it is in discussions with prospective buyers for its Tampa print assets.

Calls to the company’s corporate communication team are pending return.

But it could be Halifax Media that is the company in talks to buy the Tribune, an unattributed report on Poynter.org said. That seems to also be the speculation inside the Tribune building, a source familiar with the situation said.

In January, Halifax Media took a significant stake in Florida media properties. The New York Times Co. sold 16 regional papers to Halifax Media for $143 million.

The New York Times Regional Group employed roughly 2,000 when the Halifax deal transpired. In February, roughly 30 employees of the former New York Times Regional Media Group were laid off by Halifax, leaving 20 to consider positions but only if they relocated to Daytona Beach, according to published reports.

That deal included and the Lakeland Ledger, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and the Gainesville Sun. Halifax also owns the Daytona Beach News-Journal.